Out of the Shadows
by Advent of Shadows
Summary: The world knows him only as the brother of the Girl-Who-Lived, but there is much more to Harry Potter than a famous relative. With his prodigious skill in the magical arts and cunning worthy of Slytherin himself, the wizarding world is about to learn that conflicts can have more than two sides, and the Second Wizarding War is no different. Name will likely change in the near future
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The world knows him only as the brother of the Girl-Who-Lived, but there is much more to Harry Potter than a famous relative. With his prodigious skill in the magical arts and cunning worthy of Slytherin himself, the wizarding world is about to learn that conflicts can have more than two sides, and the Second Wizarding War is no different.

Warnings: This story is rated M. Don't read this expecting material that is only suitable for children. Do not expect warnings for M-rated material. I will try to put up warnings for scenes that would normally warrant a higher rating than M, however.

Notes: This started out as an attempt to write a Wrong Boy-Who-Lived story. Over time, the idea evolved into one where there were no mistaken. Harry Potter did not vanquish Voldemort, and he is not prophesized to defeat the man. But prophecy isn't everything. This is the tale of Harry James Potter, the brother of the Girl-Who-Lived and a truly _gray_ wizard.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

June had come to a close, and the warm summer night stood in testament of that fact. Paris nights were not unbearably hot, but they almost felt that way after being used to the weather of Scandinavia. It had only been a few weeks since the raven haired teen had left the island of Svalbard.

The raven haired teen's piercing green eyes surveyed his surroundings as he made his way toward the manor. The House of Black owned a number of manors but only one in the country of France, and that was his destination.

Wearing black leather boots, blue jeans, and a black t-shirt the teen did not stand out too much. In fact, he could have passed for any average teenage boy. But that was something that he was not. He was Harry James Potter, the firstborn son of the House of Potter and the older brother of the famous Girl-Who-Lived. In the wizarding world, those simple facts made him far from average.

Harry approached the front steps of Black Manor with a rising feeling of unease. His godfather was supposed to be waiting for him at the manor, but there was just something about the overall atmosphere that made him doubt that Sirius was there.

Entering the manor, Harry began to search for his godfather.

He did not search for long. Though he did not find his godfather waiting on him, he found someone else inside the manor.

"Wotcher, Harry," Nymphadora Tonks greeted. She was his godfather's first cousin, once removed. They had met a few years ago. All the same, she was not someone that he had expected to encounter inside the manor.

"Where is Sirius?" Harry asked carefully, careful not to drop his guard.

"He is back in London," Tonks answered, unbothered by Harry's somewhat rude question. "With all the recent events in England, he asked me to come and get you."

Harry was perfectly aware of the recent events that Tonks was referring to. Less than two weeks earlier, the infamous Lord Voldemort had officially returned. He had actually returned a full year before that, but the English Ministry of Magic had denied his return and discredited Albus Dumbledore and Dorea Potter for claiming otherwise. Now that they had been proven correct, all the wizarding newspapers had made sure to spread the word as fast as they could.

"And what if I say no?" Harry asked dryly. He was not exactly fond of the idea of returning to England. It was only the promise to his godfather that stopped him from outright refusing to go with Tonks. That did not mean he had to cooperate right away, however.

"Don't play games with me," Tonks said, shaking her head. "Sirius told me about your promise to return to England once your vacation was over. With You-Know-Who completely back in action, it won't be long before he starts sending Death Eaters to track you down. It's no secret that the Girl-Who-Lived has a brother. You might have been overlooked by the papers when you lived in the Potter household, but it's still common knowledge who you are."

Harry suppressed a grimace at her words. He had lived with his father and sister for the first thirteen years of his life, so it was no surprise that there would be plenty of public records linking him to his family. He was not particularly fond of the thought, but it made sense that someone would try to use him to get to his sister.

The only good thing was that it was actually somewhat difficult to get good information on him. Even when he still lived in the Potter household, he had never been able to completely step out of the shadows of his famous twin sister.

"Where are you supposed to take me?" he asked after several moments of silence passed.

The ancestral home of the House of Black," Tonks replied. "It's the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix." She was only able to tell him that much since he had been to Grimmauld Place before and had heard plenty of stories about the first war with Voldemort.

"I don't recall agreeing to go to the Order's headquarters," Harry remarked dryly. He had attended Durmstrang for Merlin's sake. Being around wizards and witches that strongly considered themselves _light_ was not something that he found very appealing. As it was, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were likely some of the few members that were more _gray_ than light.

Instead of replying, Tonks removed a note from her pocket and pressed it into Harry's hands.

It only took a matter of seconds to read and process the note, but that only served to aggravate the teen. With a sigh, Harry crumbled the note up and burned it to a crisp with a handful of flames.

Apparently, he did not have a choice. And to make matters worse, his father and sister would be staying at Grimmauld Place as well. Apparently, it was the only safe place that the Order had. Other than Hogwarts, of course. Sirius normally would not have forced him to spend time with those two, but he knew how his godfather was at the same time. He would force him into an uncomfortable situation if it was the only way to keep him safe.

"How are we getting there?" His voice came out in a resigned tone, telling Tonks that he had no intention of arguing any further.

"I have a portkey," she told him, visibly relaxing. "It'll take us to the Order's headquarters. Once you're ready, just tell me and we can leave."

Harry already had his shrunken trunk in his pocket, so he was not in need of anything. The disillusioned wand strapped to the underside of his left forearm was ready in case he needed it.

"I'm ready," he told her, letting out a soft sigh.

Tonks removed a medallion from her pocket with the image of a phoenix upon it. She held it out towards him, and he place a hand on top of it.

"Mars Bars," she said, earning a surprised look from Harry before the portkey took them away from Black Manor.

It was a strange password, but it seemed fitting for a portkey that Dumbledore had likely created.

* * *

Portkey was Harry's least favorite form of transportation, closely followed by Floo travel. Originally, he had always ended up on the ground when he used a portkey. Thankfully, he had learned to regain his balance quickly since then, enabling him to recover before he could hit the ground.

He had arrived in the kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place with Tonks thanks to the portkey. With some difficulty, he managed to avoid attracting unnecessary attention when they arrived.

That was not to say that he was able to avoid attracting any attention at all, however. The kitchen was not empty when he arrived, after all.

Harry saw four individuals in the kitchen. His godfather, Sirius Black, looked happy to see him there. Next to him, a more gray-haired Remus Lupin was seated. They were not as close as Harry and Sirius, but Lupin was his sister's godfather, so that was hardly surprising. And the other two people that were seated at the table were Arthur and Molly Weasley. Harry knew the pair only be reputation. He knew that his sister was friends with a number of their children, they were poor in terms of money but had far more kids than most pureblood families had, and were strongly allied with Albus Dumbledore, but that was about all that he knew about the Weasley family.

"Harry, it's good to see you," Sirius greeted warmly. "Sorry I couldn't meet you at Black Manor like I intended, but it's best if I stay in the country with everything that's going on."

"Don't worry about it, Padfoot," Harry replied with a smile of his own. "Nice to see you again too, Moony."

Lupin nodded with a smile. It had been about two years since they last saw each other.

"Harry, I'd like to introduce you to Arthur and Molly Weasley. They'll be staying here until September with their two youngest," Sirius introduced, prompting Harry to greet them somewhat formally. "If you want to turn in for the night, I'll take you to my brother's old room."

Nodding, Harry told the others good night and followed after Sirius.

Once they were away from prying ears, Sirius began to speak in a whisper.

"Sorry about this, but I'd prefer if you stayed at Grimmauld Place. At the end of the month, you can argue for emancipation since you already graduated, but they won't grant it until you're sixteen. I'll support you if you give me your word you'll stay here. As your godfather, I want you to be safe."

Of that, Harry had no doubts. "I give you my word."

"Excellent," Sirius said. "Now, I need to give you a heads up on who all is staying here. As you already know, Arthur, Molly, and their youngest two are staying here. But they are not the only guests. Moony, Tonks, Prongs, Dorea, and a muggleborn friend of Dorea's are also staying here, not to mention the two of us. Prongs is kept pretty busy with his duties as an auror and as a member of the Order, so you won't see him too much, and he's given his word that he won't cause problems. But Dorea and her friends have no choice but to stay inside except when they have an escort, so you'll more than likely have to speak with them."

Harry did not visibly react. He had already expected most of that. From the start, he suspected that James and Dorea Potter would be at Grimmauld Place. It was a safe location, and it made sense for James to do all he could to keep his little girl safe, especially after their mother died at Godric's Hollow on that fateful day.

"I can be civil, Padfoot. No guarantees that I won't snap at them if they pester me though," Harry told him. "And don't be surprised if I sneak out occasionally. You know me better than to expect me to stay cooped up all the time."

"Just don't sneak out when Mad-Eye Moody is around," Sirius said, silently conceding to Harry's point. "Just because I won't try to stop you, that doesn't mean others will be so accommodating. For that reason, I'd prefer that you only use your lighter spells around the Order."

"No promises," Harry said. He understood why Sirius offered that suggestion though. The Order of the Phoenix was an organization that strived on _light_. It would make them uncomfortable enough to be around him if they really thought about the fact that he graduated from Durmstrang two years early. It would be even worse if they realized exactly how skilled he was with darker spells.

"You can take my old room for as long as you're here. I'll see you in the morning," Sirius told him as they stopped in front of a door. It was rightfully used by the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, so Harry being allowed to stay in the room was not a minor detail at all.

"I'll see you then, Padfoot," Harry told him before he entered the room and closed the door.

* * *

After going their separate ways, Sirius headed back to the kitchen. Someone else was waiting in the kitchen for him that had not been there before though. It was Albus Dumbledore.

"What brings you here, Dumbledore?" Sirius asked as he entered the kitchen, his eyes focused on the elderly wizard. It was almost midnight. That was the last person he expected to see in his kitchen at that time of night.

"I asked Molly to contact me when Miss Tonks returned with your godson," Dumbledore answered.

"And why is that?" Sirius asked with a guarded expression. He did not know why Dumbledore would concern himself with Harry. As far as he could see, none of Dumbledore's positions offered any explanations.

"According to Severus, Lord Voldemort has already tasked some of his death eaters with tracking Harry down," Dumbledore told him. The urgency in his voice made the danger that Harry was in clear.

"There is nothing to worry about now," Sirius stated, growing uncharacteristically serious.

"For now, perhaps. But he will be in danger again once September falls. Perhaps it would be best if he was transferred to Hogwarts for his last two years," Dumbledore suggested.

His words made Sirius realized something. Dumbledore did not know.

"That won't be necessary," Sirius told him, actually earning surprised looks from everyone but Remus and Tonks.

"I do not doubt that there are some at Durmstrang with integrity, but it would be dangerous to send him back all the same," Dumbledore said with some genuine concern.

"Harry actually graduated a few days before Voldemort's return," Sirius told them, shocking Dumbledore, along with Arthur and Molly. "He sat his O.W.L.s the summer after third year and went on to sit his N.E.W.T.s alongside the seventh year class. He actually has twelve O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, even though he had to self-study some of the subjects completely. He's truly a prodigy with a wand."

That information was news even to Remus and Tonks.

It was impossible to attend all twelve classes without a time turner, as evidenced by Hermione Granger in her third year. Realistically, someone would have had to completely learn two or three subjects through self-study in order to get twelve O.W.L.s. Bill and Percy Weasley had actually done that, though they did not get that many N.E.W.T.s.

"How did he manage to pass all twelve N.E.W.T.s?" Remus asked curiously.

"He's at least as smart as Lily was. And like I told you, he's a prodigy. After taking his O.W.L.s, he never once studied Herbology, Astronomy, Arithmancy, or Divination, and he was still able to get an Acceptable on all four of them. Then he had three Exceeds Expectations and four Outstandings. The four Outstandings were the only N.E.W.T. level classes that he actually took, if that tells you anything. Well, that's not quite true, I suppose. Durmstrang doesn't really have Defense Against the Dark Arts. His class taught him everything he needed to know in order to pass the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. though."

Naturally, he was referring to the Dark Arts class that was taught at Durmstrang. They did not have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, but the Dark Arts class could be called a more hands-on version of the class that Hogwarts had. It was unfortunate that the I.C.W. had decided against adding Dark Arts to the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s every time it was brought up, but it was not that big of an issue from what Harry had told Sirius.

"That is unexpected," Dumbledore said, clearly still shocked. After being alive for over a century, he was not used to being shocked. "I understand why there is no need for him to transfer to Hogwarts in that case. It is unfortunate that the professors there never had the opportunity to teach such a bright mind like his."

"He would never have gone to the same school as his sister. Being widely known as Dorea's brother did not exactly endear him to the idea," Sirius pointed out.

"That is true," Dumbledore admitted. "He is unlikely to accept an offer to teach at Hogwarts in that case, I suppose."

"He's not looking to settle down, and teaching others his age and even some that are older wouldn't appeal to him," Sirius told him. He decided not to mention that Harry would probably be more inclined to teach students about the Dark Arts than any other subject, preventing him from having much of a role at a place like Hogwarts. "While we are on the subject of Harry, I would prefer that everyone is careful about what they tell the kids. It might be good for him to get to know some people his own age, but having Dorea's muggleborn friend bug him about how he got so many N.E.W.T.s could cause some problems. He does not have that much patience."

"We will limit what we tell them," Arthur said, receiving nods from Molly and Tonks. Dumbledore had no reason to say anything on the matter, so he simply stayed quiet.

"There is another matter that we should discuss though," Dumbledore stated, looking at Sirius intently. "I understand that your godson may be used to a wide range of liberties since he left his father's household, but it would be wise to prevent him from leaving Grimmauld Place unless he is accompanied by an escort. He is in no less danger than Dorea or her friends."

"Unfortunately, that's not an option," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Harry is too headstrong. Thanks to his skills with a wand, he would argue that he doesn't need to be escorted around like a child, and I agree. Trying to force him to do something he doesn't want to would be a bad idea. But you already knew that. Isn't that why you discouraged Prongs from forcing him to come back after their fight?"

Dumbledore remained silent, but the fact that he did not disagree with Sirius was enough.

After several minutes, Dumbledore finally spoke. "Perhaps it would be best to leave you to deal with his safety. No one knows him quite the way you do. All I ask is that you be careful. I have many memories of Harry from before he left for Durmstrang. He was always a bright and kind child, in spite of his inability to step out from his sister's shadows. I only hope that at his heart, he remains the same child that I remember."

"Harry has grown, but I wouldn't say that he has changed," Sirius told the headmaster. "I will make sure Harry doesn't get into too much trouble. He's not even sixteen yet, so it's only natural that he would get into a little trouble regardless."

Inwardly, Sirius resolved to keep Harry busy during the Order meetings. He had no doubt that the teen could sneak into the meeting and remain hidden from them all if he really wanted to. And he had a feeling that Harry and Moody would get on like vinegar and baking soda.

"It's settled then," Dumbledore said with a brief nod of his head. "I will be back tomorrow evening for the Order meeting. Until then, I wish you good tidings."

And with that, Dumbledore disapparated from Grimmauld Place.

"Molly, I would prefer if you informed me before you contact the headmaster next time. At least in matters of my godson. He is not a member of the Order. And while he is underage, he will not be attending Hogwarts. As such, Harry is none of Dumbledore's business," Sirius told the Weasley matriarch firmly. There was no hint of Padfoot in that moment. There was only Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. "Is that clear?"

Molly did not argue as she normally would have done. She simply nodded her head, too stunned to speak.

Arthur and Molly made their way to their temporary residence shortly afterwards, leaving only Sirius, Remus, and Tonks.

"I've never seen you so serious," Tonks said, a hint of amusement in her tone.

"I'm always Sirius, didn't you know?" the dog animagus retorted, earning a groan from Remus.

"That pun was old when we were still first years," Remus said, shaking his head.

Sirius pretended as though he had not even heard Remus.

"When did you get all lord-ish?" Tonks asked, shaking her head. It was easy to see that she was just trying to rephrase her previous question.

"It's not lord-ish, Nymphadora," Sirius said, grinning at the aggravation in her eyes. "It's godfatherly. After Prongs and Harry had their fight back in Third Year and Harry ran away, I was the one Harry came to. He's the closest thing I have to a son. It's only natural that I take matter concerning him very seriously."

"Everything that you said about him earlier? Is it true?" Remus asked once it was clear that Tonks was done asking questions.

"I saw his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. results myself," Sirius told him with a knowing look in his eyes. "Everything I said is true as far as I know. Harry doesn't always share every detail with me. He's too independent for that. But if you're done, I'd like to get to bed so I can wake up before Harry. We were supposed to spend the week in Paris before we headed here, so he'll probably prank me if he gets up before me. Last time I couldn't keep my word, he transfigured my clothes, pushed me out of the front door, and locked it behind me. To make matters worse, I couldn't fix it because there were too many muggles around."

With a shudder, Sirius made his way to his room.

It did not escape their notice that he never said what Harry transfigured his clothes into.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope this chapter gave you an idea of what kind of story this is. I imagine there are question about how certain things happened. All I can really say is to be patient and answers will come.

I planned on clarifying a bunch of points right here, but none of those points should be missed by anyone that actually read the chapter, so I'll skip that. Unfortunately, the website decided to make me log back in after I spent a while getting this author's note just perfect, so I lost everything I wrote for it.

Just in case you're curious and don't want to wait, I will go ahead and reveal some backstory for Dorea Lily Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived, and her friends. Or to be precise, their adventures.

Overall, things happened very similar to the way things happened in canon, though with obvious differences. First year, Dorea and her friends prevented Voldemort from gaining the Philosopher's Stone. Second year, Dorea played a major role in ending the Chamber of Secrets fiasco. Third year, Peter Pettigrew escaped from prison and Dementors were stationed at Hogwarts as a safety precaution. Unlike Sirius, Peter had no reason to go to Hogwarts though, causing it to be Dorea's most normal Hogwarts year. Fourth year happened pretty much exactly like it did in canon. And fifth year happened very similar to how it happened in canon, though there were plenty of differences at the same time. For should be clear over time.

Anyways, thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next morning, Dorea Potter walked into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place and found Molly getting breakfast ready. With her hair, Dorea could have passed for a Weasley at first glance with her long red hair, but her hair was a dark shade of red and she did not have freckles. In addition to her hair, her hazel eyes and the lightning bolt-shaped scar on her forehead gave her a rather distinctive appearance.

"Hello Dorea," Molly greeted as she saw the teenager enter the kitchen. "Breakfast will be ready before too long. I was going to wake everyone up in just a little bit."

Dorea smiled and thanked the motherly witch. It might have been because she had grown up without a mother, but Dorea had always felt as though Molly tried to be a mother to everyone.

"Would you like me to wake them up for you?" Dorea asked.

"You can go and wake up Hermione, Ginny, and Ron if you want, but I'd better wake the others," Molly told her. "Your father and Arthur already had to leave for work, so that'll just leave Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Harry."

When she heard that last name, Dorea froze.

"Did you say Harry?" she asked, her eyes growing wide. "And wasn't Tonks out of the country for a few days?"

"I forgot that you didn't know. Tonks was sent to get your brother so he would be safe. But yes, he is here. He got in late last night, so I was going to let him sleep in a little longer."

"I'll go wake up the others then," Dorea said, turning and leaving the kitchen as quickly as possible. The shock of that announcement was still overwhelming her. She had not seen her slightly older brother since Christmas break of her third year. He was supposedly at the World Cup before her fourth year, but she had not seen him there.

She would not have said that she had the best relationship with Harry before that winter break, but he had always looked out for her all the same. He had been a good brother, despite his flaws. It saddened her to think that she had not seen him since they were both thirteen years old.

It did not take long for Dorea to wake Hermione, Ginny, and Ron up. They were some of her closest friends, so she quickly began to explain to them about her brother being there.

Naturally, Ron had to say something on the matter.

"Doesn't your brother go to Durmstrang?" he asked with a frown. "Are you sure it's safe to be around him?"

"Don't be a prat," Hermione said, slapping him on the arm. "There is nothing wrong with Durmstrang."

"What exactly happened between your brother and your dad?" Ginny asked, having not been close to her back then.

Ron and Hermione had never heard the full story either, so they focused entirely on what Dorea had to say as well.

"I guess it won't hurt to tell you three," Dorea conceded. "Back in the summer of ninety-one, Dad was expecting both of us to go to Hogwarts. Without telling anyone, Harry sent in an application to Durmstrang though. So instead of getting an acceptance letter from just Hogwarts, Harry got one from Durmstrang too. Dad wasn't too happy about that, but he didn't stop Harry from going either. I heard him tell Padfoot and Moony that Harry was just rebelling to get attention since most people overlooked him because of me."

She seemed to grow deep in thought at that point.

"Dad eventually accepted that Harry wanted to go to Durmstrang and stopped trying to change his mind. But over the years, I think it wore down on Harry. Dad never made it a secret that he considered Hogwarts the best school in the world, and he definitely made it clear that he hated the Dark Arts with a passion. During Christmas Break of our third year, Dad took it a little further. He caught Harry doing his Dark Arts homework. When Dad found out that it was his favorite subject, he just snapped. They both said things that they shouldn't have, but Dad was the one that started it. Harry ran away after their fight and went to Sirius. He's lived with Sirius ever since. That's all I actually know about it."

"You really shouldn't be talking about your brother when he's in a room down the hallway," Remus Lupin said as he walked into the room. His sudden appearance brought a tinge of red to Dorea's cheeks. "You said just about everything that there is to be said about the matter. But make no mistake. The conflict between James and Harry is a mutual problem. James started it, but he tried to make amends. Harry was unresponsive to the attempts. All the same, Harry did consent to returning to a home where he knew he would have to see James again, and James never disinherited, let along disowned, Harry. So there is hope."

"What can you tell us about him?" Hermione asked, seeing that Dorea had a great deal to think about.

"There isn't much to tell. I'm Dorea's godfather, and Sirius is Harry's godfather. I regret to say that we are closer to our godchildren than their sibling. All I know about Harry, really, is that he is a bright wizard with skill in dueling and flying. I also know that he is the first wizard since before Albus Dumbledore was born to graduate a whole two years early from Durmstrang Institute."

That last piece of information clearly shocked the teens.

The concept of early graduation barely existed at Hogwarts. To go further than that and graduate two years early, on the other hand… that was something that none of them had even considered possible before. Not even Albus Dumbledore had managed to graduate in any less than seven years.

Dorea could not believe what she was hearing. The simple thought of being inferior to her brother was not something that she had considered before. She had always been the Girl-Who-Lived, not mention the Chosen One if the prophecy was to be believed. Harry had always been the normal one. He was the heir to the Ancient House of Potter as a result of him being born first and being male, but that had been a somewhat minor detail compared to her fame. She had always outshined him in every area before she left for Hogwarts, so the realization that he had so thoroughly surpassed her was hard to stomach.

Hermione was not quite as affected by the news as Dorea was, but as the so-called brightest witch of her generation, the news was still very shocking to her. From the sounds of it, Harry Potter was even brighter than she was.

"If you want to know more, you can ask him yourself. As I said, that's all I actually know about him," Remus told them as he headed towards the door.

They were so deep in thought that they did not realize that he had left until long after he was gone.

* * *

Harry was the last person in the house to wake up, but he did not mind. The previous night, he had raided the library for books on the Dark Arts in the hopes that he could learn something new while he was staying there. The House of Black was infamous for their skill with the Dark Arts, so it was not an unrealistic expectation.

All of the books that he found were stored away inside his locked trunk for now.

Harry quickly dressed, into an attire of muggle clothes. His original wand was strapped to the underside of his left forearm, while his custom wand was hidden thanks to the right leg of jeans. Normally, he would disillusion the wand holster on his left arm, but he decided to leave it visible since he did not yet have plans to leave Grimmauld Place for anything.

He made his way to his door and pulled it open just as Molly Weasley approached it.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," Harry greeted politely. If he had to spend the whole summer around the woman, alienating her now seemed like a bad idea.

"Good morning to you as well. I hope you don't mind if I call you Harry," she replied.

"It's fine with me," Harry told her, shaking his head. "Am I the last one up?"

"The others just headed towards the kitchen," she answered. "Your sister and her friends know that you are here already, but I expect they will have questions."

"Naturally," Harry said, nodding his head. There were many questions that he did not really want to go into with his sister and her friends, but only time would tell what they actually discussed. "Is that breakfast, I smell?"

The motherly woman confirmed his suspicion and led him to the kitchen.

When he arrived, Harry saw that his sister had changed since they last saw each other. The last time they saw each other, Dorea still wore glasses. She had inherited their father's eyes completely, bad vision included. Whereas James only started to wear glasses after he came to Hogwarts, Dorea had needed them since she first learned to read. So her vision had either been corrected since their third year, or she had taken to wearing contacts.

In addition to the lack of glasses, he saw that she had definitely gained a more feminine figure. He could recognize that she was an attractive girl, though he viewed her only like a sister. He was not a pure blood, after all.

Sitting with her, Harry saw her best friends and the youngest Weasley. He had seen her best friends during the World Cup before their fourth year, despite the fact that she had not seen him at the event. He knew enough about Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley to satisfy any curiosity he might have had. But all he really knew about the youngest Weasley, on the other hand, was that his sister had saved her from a basilisk back during the Chamber of Secrets fiasco.

"Wotcher, Harry," Tonks greeted as Harry took a seat at the table.

"Nice to see you too, Tonks. Padfoot and Moony driving you up the walls yet?" Harry asked with a hint of a smile.

"My dear cousin is trying, but he's not that good," Tonks said, shaking her head.

"Now I'm hurt, Nymphadora," Sirius said teasingly, causing the young auror's hair to turn crimson.

"It's too early to be starting on that again, Sirius," Remus said, shaking his head.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw that Dorea looked like she wanted to say something, so he chose to stay quiet until she worked up the courage.

It was quiet until Molly finished fixing a plate for everyone, but it was not Dorea who spoke first.

"Remus said that you graduated two years early," Hermione Granger said, looking at Harry intently.

Sirius glanced between Harry and Remus with amusement clear in his eyes.

"I did," Harry confirmed. "The only reason I was able to graduate early was because I passed my O.W.L.s two years early though. I spent my first three years at Durmstrang studying non-stop, and Sirius gave me quite a bit of tutoring before I actually sat the O.W.L.s that summer. After that, I just needed to keep up with my new classmates."

"But how did you graduate so early when Professor Dumbledore couldn't do it? No one has graduated early from Hogwarts in decades. Yet you managed to graduate a whole two years early."

Harry actually looked amused at the line of questioning. "Albus Dumbledore graduated after seven years because he wanted to graduate after seven years. If he wanted to, he could have taken his O.W.L.s early. From what I've heard, he was skilled enough to have passed his N.E.W.T.s when he sat his O.W.L.s. Why didn't he choose to graduate early? I don't know, and I don't particularly care. Everyone is different. I would rather get my standard education over with as fast as possible than let it drag on though. There is still so much that I can learn in this world. My five years at Durmstrang were just the beginning, really."

Hermione did not appear to have any idea what to say to him upon hearing his words.

"Have you seen Dad yet?" Dorea asked, drawing his attention.

"No, I haven't seen Prongs yet," Harry answered, shaking his head. "I expect I will before too long though." He did not sound very enthusiastic about it.

"We've both missed you, Harry," Dorea told him all of her attention focused on him.

"I've missed you too, little sister," Harry told her, a slight smile revealing itself.

"I'm only a few minutes younger than her," she told him, a pout coming to her face, reminding him of old times.

"Don't concern yourself with our reunion," Harry said, growing serious. "Whatever happens is between Prongs and I."

He had still never fully forgiven his father for his words back during Christmas break of his third year, and had no intention of discussing the matter with anyone else.

"He is sorry," Dorea said, a stubborn look in her eyes.

"Dorea, drop it," Harry told her flatly, a hard look visible in his eyes. "If you want to talk, I'm willing, but that is not a subject that we should get into here."

Molly looked like she was about to say something, but Sirius shot her a look that silenced her before she could get the words out of her mouth.

"Do you plan quidditch?" Ron Weasley suddenly asked, changing the subject to something much more preferable as far as Harry was concerned.

From there, Dorea's friends spent the rest of breakfast finding out about his hobbies. Ron was naturally disappointed to hear that though he had played Quidditch and Quodpot, he preferred to simply fly and occasionally race. A good portion of breakfast was spent discussing his time in Durmstrang's Dueling Club.

After they were done with breakfast, the teens headed back upstairs. It did not take Harry long to notice that Dorea and her friends were following him to the library.

"Do you need something?" Harry asked, not even looking back at them.

"I was hoping we could clear the air," Dorea said, shooting her friends a look.

"There's nothing to be said, Dorea. You were right there with Prongs in his disapproval of my decisions, but you were still nice about it. I don't have any issues with you, and the only two people that can resolve my issues with Prongs are me and him."

"Then why are you being so distant?" Dorea asked, a puzzled look in her eyes.

"I am always distant to those of the _light_," Harry said, reaching his right hand out towards a bookshelf. "Accio." With that single word, a book sailed from its place on the shelf to his open hand. The display of verbal wandless magic caught Dorea and her friends off guard.

"It's true then. You're a dark wizard," Ron said, taking a nervous step back. His words, rather than his display of wandless magic, was what seemed to have shaken Ron.

"A dark wizard? No, I wouldn't call myself that. I definitely have an affinity for the Dark Arts, but there is more to being a dark wizard, or even a light wizard, than the magic that you are skilled with. I'm somewhere between the two, so it would be more accurate to call me a gray wizard."

"Dark Arts are dark for a reason. No one should use them," Ron argued, though only Hermione looked as though she completely agreed with him. Dorea and Ginny did not appear to agree, but Harry knew that it did not mean that they disagreed completely either.

"The Dark Arts are frowned upon, but they are generally legal. The Dark Arts are broad in scope. I imagine your only experience with them comes from Death Eaters and the Unforgivable Curses, but you've only scratched the surface. The Dark Arts is not evil, but neither is it good. It is as much a tool as a wand is. Both can kill. It is up to the one wielding them to exercise good judgment. The same can be said of Parseltongue."

Though it was added on as an afterthought, it was easy to see that they were all affected by the comparisons.

"Parseltongue has been a tool of dark wizards for a thousand years, so what makes a Parselmouth any better than a practitioner of the Dark Arts?" Harry said, his voice even the entire time. "Phillip Von Hohenheim, who was better known as Paracelsus, was a famous alchemist who made serious contributions to medicine. He was also a Parselmouth and employed Parselmagic, a rare form of magic that is classified as belonging to the Dark Arts. Does that make him a bad person?"

"He was a Parselmouth," Hermione confirmed when the others looked to her for verification. "I don't believe that it's an accurate analogy though. The Dark Arts are seductive and corrupting. That alone makes it different from Parseltongue or the simple ability to use magic."

"You don't have to agree with me, and I will freely admit that the Dark Arts can corrupt and are addictive, but many things can corrupt a man. The list is so long I wouldn't even know what to start from. The Dark Arts are not for everyone, but discriminating against them is stupid. It's just as bad as the purebloods' foolish discrimination against _muggleborns_."

The way that he said the word _muggleborn_ stopped Hermione in her tracks. Apparently, Ron took offense to Harry's words, though he was unable to get the first words out.

"Why do you think discrimination against muggleborns is foolish?" Hermione asked, earning a curious look from Ginny.

Harry almost forgot that the youngest Weasley was even in there. She seemed content to stay quiet, after all.

"No one knows where magic first came from, but ever since the first generation of wizards and witches, every witch and wizard has a wizard or witch ancestor, even muggleborns," Harry said, confusing her. "Every muggleborn is actually the descendent of a squib. A year ago, I took an inheritance test at Gringotts in Paris after I found out about that fact. The test actually revealed that my fourth-great-grandfather on my mother's side was a member of the Bones family. Gringotts was able to find that out, but they could not discover the identity of my third-great-grandfather. That only happens if the individual is a squib. The Ministry of Magic does not keep records of squibs, and Gringotts typically does not do business with squibs because they rarely stay in the wizarding world long enough for that to happen."

"Where did you find out about that in the first place?" Hermione asked. A single glance told him that Dorea was shocked speechless. It was rather surprising news to her. It was not public knowledge, after all.

"The Restriction Section in Durmstrang's Library had all that information in it," Harry told them casually. He actually had to write an essay about why Durmstrang did not accept muggleborn students. As it turned out, they did not discriminate against muggleborns. They just did not want to deal with bringing muggleborns into the wizarding world, instead preferring to teach those that grew up knowing about magic.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Harry asked as he closed the book that he had removed from the shelf. He manually put it back on the shelf, having found what he was looking for.

"That is all. Thank you for answering our questions," Dorea said, shooting Ron a glare. It was clear that he was extremely distrustful of Harry simply because of the admission that he practiced the Dark Arts.

"It's not that big of a house, so I'm sure we'll see each other again before too long," Harry said before he made his way out of the library and headed back to his bedroom.

Upon arriving at the bedroom, he walked over to his bed and opened his trunk. On the very top of his possessions, a small lead box could be seen. Picking it up, Harry lifted the lid.

"So what is Salazar Slytherin's locket doing here?" he murmured, careful not to touch the artifact. With the darkness that he felt within the locket, even he felt reluctant to touch it. It could not have been a coincidence that the locket was in the house though. It looked exactly like it had in the book earlier, and the taint of Dark Magic on the locket was troubling.

Shaking his head, Harry shut the box, tossing it in his trunk, and carefully locked the trunk so that not even a house elf could manage to access its contents.

He could study the artifact later. For now, he needed to get ready. He had a feeling that the long awaited reunion with his father was just around the corner.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, but it did allow for a better look at Harry Potter's true nature in this story. I wasn't fond of the character interactions in this chapter, to be honest. But I'm still adapting to writing these characters, not to mention that Dorea and her friends are a little more reserved around someone that they haven't spent much time around.

Anyways, next chapter should see things pick up a little more, especially with the reunion between James and Harry.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Just after four o'clock, James Potter arrived at Grimmauld Place.

He was rather nervous about the upcoming reunion with his only son. Ever since their falling out, he had not heard from Harry at all. Sirius regularly gave him updates, but that was not the same. He should have been there for his son, and the blame could be placed squarely on his shoulders as far as he was concerned.

Remus, Sirius, Dorea, and several others were aware of the circumstances that led to their falling out, but only he and Harry were fully aware of what was said. Everyone else had been told an edited version. In fact, Dorea's recollection of it had been altered without her knowledge.

It was not something that he was proud of, but it was no one else's business what was said. As it was, James had still not been able to forgive himself for what he said, and he did not expect Harry to have done so either. He had done worse than simply cross the line. No son should have been told that he should have died instead of his mother. It was hard to get angry with Harry for ignoring his messages because of his words, even if they were in the heat of the moment.

"Where is everyone at?" he asked, seeing that the only one in the room was Sirius.

"Arthur and Tonks are at work, Molly had to go and pick up some more food, and Dorea's in the kitchen with her friends. But I doubt you were referring to them. Last I saw them, Remus was in the library with Harry. They were talking about lycanthropy and animagi."

James nodded. He did enjoy seeing his friends and his daughter, but the chance to see his son again took precedence.

"And James, try to be careful. You're still not one of his favorite people, and I can't blame him for deciding to leave if you get into another fight," Sirius warned him.

"I will be careful," James promised. There was no way that he would risk driving Harry away again. It had taken two and a half years for them to see each other again, after all.

Nothing more was said before he made his way to the library.

He walked through the doors and saw that Harry was intently listening to Remus talk about how Wolfbane Potion affected his transformations.

Seeing Harry in person again was nice. It was easy to see that Harry resembled him a great deal. Harry looked just like he had when he was sixteen with the sole exceptions being completely different eyes and the lack of glasses.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," James said, getting their attention.

"Not at all," Remus said as he rose to his feet. "I will go and check on the others."

Within moments, Remus was gone.

"Hello Prongs," Harry greeted in an overly formal tone.

"It's nice to see you again," James said. He hated to admit it, but hearing Harry address him by his Marauder nickname was actually painful. It was not outright rude like calling him by his first name would have been, however.

"Do you have something that you want to talk about?" Harry asked with a hint of a frown.

"I wanted to talk to you about the past," James stated. "We shouldn't leave it unresolved."

"What is there to talk about?" Harry asked, his tone flat and displeasure clear in his eyes. "You might not have meant to say the things that you did, but you had to have considered them before regardless. Otherwise, they would not have come to the surface so easily."

"You are wrong. It was a passing thought that came to me only when I was angry. I have never truly felt that it would have been better for you to have died instead of Lily. Lily would never have forgiven herself for allowing you to die, and you are truly my son. Just the thought of your death leaves me sad. What can I say to you to make you believe me?"

"I don't change my opinions that easily," Harry told him with a frown. "Let's say that I'm wrong about you and that you truly regret what you said. If that's the case, I will try to forgive you. But as it stands, I see no reason to see you as anything but a _light_ wizard. The beliefs of light wizards tend to be very straightforward and revolve only around right and wrong. Those aren't exactly traits that I view highly."

"Then I'll prove you wrong," James said with a look in his eyes that the professors at Hogwarts would have remembered seeing before a prank.

Harry just shook his head, but it was a start. They did not actually reconnect, but more importantly, they did not get into another fight and they began moving in the right direction.

* * *

Harry and James only talked a little more before dinner. It was mostly somewhat light conversation. James asked all about Harry's time at Durmstrang and appeared to actually care about the topic. But before too long, Dorea came by and took James away, intent on finding out about something that did not really concern Harry.

In all honesty, Harry did not know if his father meant what he said. Either way, he still remembered how it felt to be thirteen again and be told by his father that he should have died instead of his mother. It had hurt him far more than he allowed anyone to know, and his father did not seem to understand how much it truly affected him.

But he had every intention of giving his father a chance to prove that he was telling the truth. That did not mean that he would cut him too much slack, but it was better than what he would have done under normal circumstances.

According to his godfather, there would be a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix after dinner, so James was not going to have a chance to prove himself so soon, but that was the last thing that Harry was thinking about. He was instead thinking about what he would be doing while the meeting was going on. Unlike his sister and her friends, he had no intention of being kept in seclusion during the summer. While everyone was occupied with the meeting, he could easily sneak out.

So when people began to arrive after dinner, Harry saw that it would be time before too much longer.

In addition to those living at Grimmauld Place, they were joined by Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Dodge, Emmeline Vance, Minerva McGonagall, Mundungus Fletcher, Rubeus Hagrid, Sturgis Podmore, Hestia Jones, Bill Weasley, and Fleur Delacour. Sirius made sure to quietly tell Harry who they all were, though there were a few that Harry recognized. He had actually met Fleur during the World Cup two years earlier, though she was the only one that he really knew on a personal level. Even then, they were not exactly close.

From what he heard, Harry came to the conclusion that their meeting would not start until Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape showed up, so he still had a little time before he needed to leave.

Harry talked a little with some of the Order members, maintaining an overly polite façade and relying on deflection to prevent them from leanring much about him. It did not escape his notice that throughout the entire ordeal, Alastor Moody watched him like a hawk. The man's paranoia and hatred for the Dark Arts were rather well known, though it was ironic given that he had used his share of dark curses in the last war with Voldemort.

When Albus Dumbledore arrived at Grimmauld Place, Dorea, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were ushered out of the room, but the elderly wizard chose to speak with Harry momentarily before he left the room.

"It is nice to see you again, Harry," Dumbledore greeted with a grandfatherly smile. "Congratulations on your early graduation. How does it feel to graduate so early?"

"Thank you, and it's nice," Harry told him. Truthfully, he was a little disappointed that having his N.E.W.T.s did not grant him automatic emancipation, the ability to legally apparate at a younger age, or the ability to legally use magic during the summer, but those were minor issues. He could file for emancipation when he turned sixteen. With his godfather's support, he would easily be granted it. The apparition issue was minor since he preferred other methods of transportation. And while he could not legally use magic until he was emancipated or came of age, the Ministry of Magic was incapable of punishing anyone that had their N.E.W.T.s for using underage magic. He was in a gray area when it came to the laws for underage magic.

"I am glad to hear it. And should you feel so inclined, I may be able to find a position at Hogwarts for you. With your N.E.W.T. results, I have no doubt that you are qualified for several positions."

"That is a generous offer, but I'm not really looking to settle down," Harry told Dumbledore. "I'm actually interested in becoming a Curse Breaker or Unspeakable in the future. But for now, I think I'll just do a little more self-study. There is still so much that I just don't know."

"Just keep in mind that the option is open if you ever change your mind," Dumbledore advised him, not looking surprised in the least.

With that, Harry made his way out of the room and headed back to his room.

Once he reached his room, he locked the door with magic, grabbed a cloak, and spoke in a soft but firm tone. "Kreacher."

The only remaining house-elf of the House of Black appeared instantly.

"How may I serve you, Young Master?" Kreacher asked, bowing before Harry.

Sirius did not have any children, illegitimate or not, and he was the last Black, so the House of Black did not truly have an heir. However, Sirius had ensured that if he died, all of the House of Black's possessions would be inherited by Harry. Because of that, Kreacher had been forced to obey Harry's commands. The house-elf had hated Harry with a passion and constantly insulted him for being a half-blood.

Harry had managed to get the house-elf to come around though. Once he learned exactly how to treat the house-elf, Harry had found that Kreacher gained respect for him. It was enough for both of them.

"I need you to bring me Diagon Alley. I'll call you if I need your assistance beyond that," Harry told the house-elf as he cast a disillusionment charm on his wand holster. "Sirius knows that I'll be going, but do not mention this task in front of anyone else. Is that understood?"

"Yes Master," Kreacher said as he took Harry's outstretched hand. With his elf magic, he took Harry away from Grimmauld Place with side-along apparition.

* * *

"During our last meeting, we discussed the necessity to bring Harry Potter to safe and secure location. Due to the fact that this is his godfather's home and is the most secure place we have access to outside of Hogwarts, it was a unanimous decision to bring him here. We have accomplished that task, as you saw earlier," Dumbledore said, beginning the meeting. He could see that Severus was not pleased by the topic, but it was enough that he did not voice his thoughts.

"He shouldn't have been brought here," Alastor Moody said, earning a few surprised looks. "The kid is a security risk. I don't care who he is. He graduated from Durmstrang two years early, and I can see the taint of the Dark Arts on him."

"As if he could be a threat," Severus scoffed. "I don't believe for one second that he is as skilled as everyone claims. He is only a fifteen year old boy, and the son of Potter at that."

James balled his right hand up in a tight fist at hearing Snape's words, and Sirius did not look much better. Dumbledore was not about to let things get off track though.

"Make no mistake. Harry Potter is at least as talented as you have heard, Severus. After his third year, he sat his O.W.L.s and passed every subject with at least an Exceed Expectations. And then this year, he sat his N.E.W.T.s. I saw his results, and I must confess to being impressed. Despite only taking N.E.W.T. level Ancient Runes, Charms, Dark Arts, Potions, and Transfiguration, he managed to pass all fourteen subjects. He managed an Acceptable on Arithmancy, Astronomy, Divination, and Herbology, along with an Exceed Expectations in Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic, and Muggle Studies. In addition to that, he scored an Outstanding in every subject that he was enrolled in. I have no doubts that he is at least as skilled as most of the individuals in this room."

The sheer impact of his words shocked many people. Not even the ever snarky Severus Snape had no comeback.

But Dumbledore was not yet done.

"Harry Potter is not a threat to the Order, despite his intellect and affinity for the Dark Arts. I believe that it is not a wizard's ability but his actions that define who he is. There is no reason to doubt that he is a genuinely good person. He is not perfect, but no one is. For the present, I ask that you consider what I have said and do not try to antagonize him. Despite being underage, he is not a child. Treating him as such would be a mistake."

"I still say that it's a bad idea, Albus," Alastor said, shaking his head. "But I will abide by your request for now. Don't expect me to drop my guard though. Constant vigilance!"

Sirius looked both pleased and amused by the conversation.

"Are we done talking about Potter, or do you wish to try to bore me to death instead?" Severus asked derisively.

"If we wanted to kill you, we would be a bit more creative than that," Sirius retorted. "If you're tired of hearing about my godson, maybe you should just stop paying attention. No one gives a rat's ass about your complaints."

Severus looked like he was debating going for his wand, but Dumbledore's words brought the argument to a halt.

"Calm yourselves. We are done discussing Harry for now. I only meant to give an update on that assignment. So let us move on to more pressing matters if that is okay with you," Dumbledore said, earning a few nods in response.

* * *

Though Harry had Kreacher take him to Diagon Alley, that was not where he planned on staying. He immediately made his way to Knockturn Alley. With his cloak, he did not need to worry about anyone recognizing him or noticing his resemblance to James Potter.

His first stop on Knockturn Alley was Borgin and Burkes.

"What do you need?" Mr. Borgin said from behind the counter, naturally distrustful of the cloaked visitor. It did not bother Harry in the slightest that he could make the man nervous though.

"I am looking to procure something. I've been led to believe that you are more than capable to obtaining such things," Harry said, careful not to allow Borgin to see his face.

"I might be able to. What do you want?"

"I am looking for books on rituals. Ritual that are classified among the Dark Arts, to be precise," Harry replied before he looked around the shop. "And might I ask where the other Vanishing Cabinet is? I might have a use for such a thing, but I'd much rather the set."

"I may be able to find something of the sort," Borgin said carefully. "And as for the other Vanishing Cabinet… I have heard that its twin is inside Hogwarts but is broken."

"Get me what I want, and I'll pay a fair price," Harry told him. "And I'll take the Vanishing Cabinet too. It's useless without a working twin, but it might give me something to study in my free time. A hundred galleons should be more than enough."

From his reputation, Harry knew that Borgin was the type to try to sell something for as much as possible, but his words seemed to have stopped Borgin from trying to negotiate a higher price.

"A hundred galleons and it's yours," he said.

Harry paid the price, telling the man that his house-elf would retrieve the Vanishing Cabinet after he left. And he did just that, calling for Kreacher just after he left the shop.

After Kreacher left to do as requested, Harry made his way for one of Knockturn Alley's many pubs. It was called the Smoking Phial. Sirius had spoken of the place briefly before, explaining that it catered to many beings, not just wizardkind. Vampires, hags, banshees, and a variety of other beings could be found in the dank pub.

"I'll take a pint of Firewhiskey," he said, taking a seat at the bar.

The bartender, a short wizard with little hair and a hard face, looked at him carefully. "Try not to get killed, kid."

All the same, he accepted three galleons and poured Harry a pint.

"Not many wizards are brave enough to come here more than once."

The clearly feminine voice came from his right. There was a certain melody to it, and he could not help but look to see its owner. He was not disappointed either.

She was truly a beautiful woman with long, curly brown hair. She looked to be a little taller than him with a slender hourglass figure. Like most British wizardkind, she wore robes, but Harry knew better than to assume that she was simply a witch. Her crimson eyes and ivory skin gave him a good idea what was different about her. Her teeth just reaffirmed his beliefs. She was a vampire.

"This is my first time, but I doubt it'll be my last. I don't scare easily," Harry said, casually sipping from his firewhiskey. He was not about to admit that he was anxious having his back to most of the patrons.

"The name's Penelope," she introduced with amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Harry," he told her in return. They were close enough that she could see under his hood, but he doubted his hair was visible enough to make anyone realize who he resembled.

"So what are you doing here? You are definitely underage. Your blood would smell different if you had reached magical maturity," she asked.

"I just wanted to relax," he told her, shrugging his shoulders. "And being underage doesn't mean much. I've already sat my N.E.W.T.s, and I'm good enough with a wand that I don't need to worry too much. What about you? You're definitely not an experienced vampire. You looked tense when you were talking about blood."

"I've only been one for a year. I was only able to manage one year out of Hogwarts before it happened. As if being muggleborn wasn't bad enough, now I'm a vampire. Getting a job is even more difficult now."

It was surreal talking to a vampire about jobs, but Harry did not let the situation bother him in the slightest.

"Could be worse. You could have been a muggle before you were changed. Then getting a job would have been impossible," he said, bringing a slight smile to her face. "What were you planning on doing before you were changed?"

"I planned on getting a job at the Ministry. I actually thought being Headgirl would have helped, but they put stock in blood purity. Sometimes I'm amazed that there was ever a muggleborn Minister," she told him, shaking her head. "You said that you sat your N.E.W.T.s already, didn't you? I wasn't aware you could even take them before you were seventeen."

"I went to Durmstrang, so it's a little different," Harry told her, easily deflecting the question. "I hear that Hogwarts is very different from Durmstrang. Mind telling me about it?"

Just like that, the pair began to talk about things with little importance. Harry never dropped his guard and made sure to keep his wand within reach, but he truly enjoyed himself over the next few hours as he got to know Penelope.

When it came time for him to leave, Harry made plans to meet her another night just to chat. It was innocent but enjoyable.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter should have been out days ago, but there have been complications lately that have stopped me. I hope to get back to doing daily updates, but we'll just have to see. No promises.

Harry's interactions with Dorea and James are a bit awkward so far, as you no doubt have noticed, but that's intentional. Writing them without bashing can have that effect, I suppose.

Now, I'm sure that most people realize it, but I'll confirm it regardless. The vampire at the end of the chapter was Penelope Clearwater. She disappeared after The Prisoner of Azkaban, so I decided to make her into a vampire. It fit my plans. And just to be clear, Harry isn't being fooled into thinking that she is harmless. He knows that she is a predator by nature. At this point, he just sees her as a nice person to talk to, and it's really just idle conversation at the same time.

Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. Have a nice night.


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